Saturday, May 21, 2011

Flying

Time changes are confusing. What I know is that I left the US on May 21st at 8am and flew to London. From London I flew to Bahrain where I am currently writing this blog and it is May 22nd at 117AM for the US for it is 817AM Bahrain time. I realized a few things...
1. Airplane food is gross
2. Flying this far is not fun
3. I am really bad at math because I cannot calculate time changes.
4. Ironically... Planes get nicer when flying from developed to not-so-developed
5. Bangladesh is incredibly far from the US
On a more serious note...
I often do not think things through entirely. The thing I did not think through entirely was the incredible culture shock this travel would bring me. First of all, we went from a dryish 66 degree London to a very humid 90 degree Bahrain. I thought of this, but the whole terminal to terminal thing makes everything seem surreal. Getting on the plane to Bahrain I had a little of a "Woah, this is different"; however, it did not match up to getting off the plane. I realized how little I know about social cues and culturally appropriateness. I also realized I was a complete outsider and that this is a totally different world. I thought I was all culturally aware because of Haiti and Honduras, but I once again gave myself way too much credit. I am pretty humbled by this and I expect to only become moreso once we enter Bangladesh. Currently, I am shell-shocked, jet-lagged, tired, hungry for real food, nervous, and really excited. Although I am really nervous I am determined to make this an awesome trip and get some good info for da book and immerse myself in the culture once I understand how to without being a stupid American.